I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dictation/transcription systems for the recording and retrieval of messages such as voice signals on a recording medium and, more particularly, to a dictation/transcription system wherein message identifying information in the form of tone signals and message identifying data blocks are also recorded on and retrieved from the recording medium. The message identifying information rerieved during transcription enables the system to determine and display the number and variety of message types recorded on the medium.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of dictation/transcription equipment is presently available which provide for the recording of voice messages and the subsequent playback of those messages for transcription. In the field of dictation/transcription equipment, however, a long standing problem relates to the differentiation and identification of the variety of message types which may be present on the message recording medium, such as magnetic tape. These message types may relate to, for example, letters or "priority" letters, or instructions or "special" notes which the dictator wishes to convey to the transcriber. As may be appreciated, the use of dictation/transcription equipment within various work environments, such as a hospital, may further require other, specialized message types. For example, within a hospital environment it may be desirable for the transcriptionist to differentiate between not only conventional message types, such as those described above, but also specialized message types relating to patient charts, orders for medication, and requests for various diagnostic tests. As may be further appreciated, another desirable feature of dictation/transcription equipment is the ability to display the number, the locations and the different types of messages present on the recording medium and, further, to rapidly position the medium at a desired message.
Currently available dictation/transcription devices of particular interest include two models marketed by Dictaphone Corporation, the assignee of the present invention, namely the DCX II and the DCX III machines. Both of these devices record a tone, or cue, as a marker to identify a segment of dictation, for example, a letter. One type of cue has the form of a one second burst of tone, typically, 15 Hertz (HZ) signal which is recorded when the operator depresses a CUE button on a hand-held microphone. A second type of cue has the form of two one second bursts separated by one half second of silence. By convention, the single burst cue is recorded to mark the end of a dictated letter, while the double burst cue is recorded to mark the beginning of a dictated instruction to the transcriptionist. Thus, it may be seen that these two message types may be differentiated by the association of a particular type of cue with a segment of dictation.
In addition, both the DCX II and the DCX III have a visual display comprised of a linear array of light emitting diode (LED) segments which are illuminated to indicate to the transcriber the relative locations on the tape of the cues. The display of the DCX II device indicates the positions of the letter cues, while the display of the DCX III device indicates both letter and instruction cues and other message related information, such as the duration of the segment of dictation.
The information displayed by each DCX device is created in response to the depression of a scan switch by the transcriptionist. An internal microprocessor responds to the actuation of the scan switch to cause the tape to be quickly moved past a record/playback head. As the tape is driven, the recorded single and double burst cue signals are detected, while chopper pulses are generated as the usual supply or take-up reel rotates to transport the tape. By linearizing the intervals between such chopper pulses, the microprocessor computes the relative position of the tape and, hence, associates a tape position with a detected cue. The type and position of each detected cue are stored in a memory and also indicated on the LED display for viewing by the transcriptionist. Additionally, the DCX devices also are provided with a search switch which, when actuated, commands the microprocessor to drive the tape in a rapid manner to the beginning of each recorded instruction message, the positions of the instruction messages having been identified by the microprocessor during the aforementioned scan operation.
Another example of dictating/transcription equipment which provides for recording a marker tone is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,751. This patent describes a central dictating and transcription system having a plurality of dictating and transcribing stations in which voice signals are converted to digital signals by an analog-to-digital converter for storage as speech data records on a rotating disk storage device. During transcription, the stored data records are reconstituted into speech by a digital-to-analog converter. Also recorded is a tone followed by a data code which directs the playback operation to "jump" from one speech data record to another during transcription. This "jumping" from data record to data record permits the dictator to make insertions or deletions in his dictated messages. The data code directs the digital apparatus to access non-sequentially stored speech records (e.g., the inserted records) but supplies the transcriptionist with a continuous flow of speech.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,720 also describes the generation of multiple tones in a magnetic tape dictation indexing system. Multiple record and playback heads operate on separate tracks of a record tape; and each tone has a unique frequency that is recorded on a separate track. However, codes are not associated with the tones.